Indianapolis restaurant owner opens his heart

Indianapolis restaurateur Joe Vuskovich opened his heart to the storm ravaged city of New Orleans.

On Monday Vuskovich, a De La Salle graduate and former owner of Visko's in Gretna, offered an appetizing deal to patrons at his "Yats'' restaurant at College Avenue and 54th Street in Broad Ripple: A block party, live music and all you could eat for $5, in return for a donation to the Indianapolis/Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

"A guy up the street who owns 'The Magic Bus' brought in a $500 check, '' Vuskovich said Monday as a band played in the background. "A girl got a $5 plate of food and gave $80 to Catholic Charities. People are touched by what happened down there.

"We'll give food away as long as we can today. This is our little part that we can do. I loved New Orleans. I consider it a great jewel. Heck, I go there once a month. Half my clothes are in my mother's house in Gretna.''

Vuskovich's kindness didn't end there.

Evacuees bearing a driver's license from Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama dined and partied for free. Upwards of 500 residents from the Gulf Coast are being sheltered at the Indiana Fair Grounds in Indianapolis.

It was his small way of giving back to a community that had given him so much.

"What I'm doing is nothing, '' he said. "I'm just giving a day out of my life. I make a living out of what New Orleans gave to me. If I grew up in some other place I wouldn't know how to cook gumbo. I've profited all my life from the culture of New Orleans, the music and the food. I've made a living out of what I learned in New Orleans.''

Vuskovich said as many as 20 Indianapolis restaurants are involved in the relief effort, including all area-based MCL cafeterias.

He has joined forces with another Indianapolis resident, homemaker Teree Bosso, who said a tractor-trailer carrying personal items for the elderly, coloring books, crayons and games for children, and bottled water, pillows and blankets will be leaving within a week for Baton Rouge.
From there, the items will find their way to the many displaced storm victims.

"We have the ability to help and we have to help, '' Bosso said. "It's the least we can do. We see it on TV. How can you not help? All we did was get the ball rolling here. It was easy to do. Everybody wants to help. They just don't know how to help. We have a lot of friends who are giving money. It's way for all of us to feel better.

"New Orleans is a great city. I've had friends down there open up their home to me and my family for Super Bowls, Final Fours, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, you name it. We have a lot of good memories there.''

"I love New Orleans, '' Vuskovich said. "That's why we're doing what we can because there's no place like it. It's touching to see how much people care.''